tabula rasa: (translation: 'blank slate'), refers
to the behaviourist belief that all human behaviour is infinitely
plastic and malleable, and therefore can be explained in terms of learnt
experiences, rather than genetic predispositions.

tardive dyskinesia: a condition that is
occasionally experienced as a side-effect of antipsychotic drugs,
typified by involuntary movements of the tongue, lips, jaw and other
facial movements.

taste aversion: refers to a
type of learning formed after one trial, whereby an
association is formed between feelings of sickness and
(usually) a particular food, resulting in an avoidance of
the food.

telegraphic speech: refers to the reduced sentences (resembling telegrams)
that distinguish children's speech patterns from around 18
months to two years, demonstrating the basics of early
grammar by containing crucial nouns and verbs.

territoriality: the tendency of animals to defend (e.g. through scent
markings) a particular geographical area from other members
of their own species, in order to gain access to and
increase control over a resource.

Thorndike (1874-1949): renowned for his animal research, exploring trial and
error learning (known as instrumental learning) in animals
through the development of the Thorndike 'puzzle-box'

three mountains test: a Piagetiantask to demonstrate egocentricity,
whereby children are shown a model of three mountains, and
watches as a doll is positioned at a different point
around the mountains. Pre-operational egocentric children are unable to see from the dolls perspective of
the mountains.

tip of the tongue
phenomenon: a term used to refer to the experience when we feel that we know a
particular word, yet are unable to retrieve it.

tolerance: over
time, the need
for greater dosages of a drug in order to achieve the same
effect.

Tolman (1886 ?1959):
an
American psychologist who concentrated on learning (escape,
latent, avoidance, approach and choice-point learning) in
rats, most commonly in mazes.

top-down approach: in
the context of offender profiling, an approach that examines
evidence from the crime scene in light of existing
classifications and theories of serious crimes (the 'top')
and appraises which category a particular crime fits into.
Commonly used by American criminal profilers.

top-down processing: perceptual processing in which previous experiences,
existing knowledge, expectations, motivations or the
context in which perception takes place, affect how a
perceived object is interpreted and classified.

trial-and-error learning: originally proposed by Thorndike, a view of learning that
proposes responses that do not achieve the desired effect
are gradually reduced, and those that do are gradually
strengthened.

type A personality: a set
of personality characteristics, including a sense of
competitiveness, hostility, a constant sense of time
pressure and impatience, which result in an increased risk
of coronary heart disease.